RECIPE: Healthy homemade Nutella

I’m going to be completely honest with you guys from the off and tell you three things:

1. This ain’t the cheapest recipe in the world.
2. It takes a bit of time to make.
3. It doesn’t taste the same as Nutella.

Buuuuuut, IT’S SO DELICIOUS AND AWESOME OH EM GEE YUMMMMMM!

Now allow me to address the aforementioned concerns:

1. Medjool dates are expensive, this I know. Coconut oil ain’t the cheapest things in the world either, nor are hazelnuts. However once in a while you’ve got to #treatyoself. And when treating yourself, is it not ideal to do so with something that’s actually going to nourish your body as well as being delicious!? I think the answer is a resounding yes there.

2. I say "a bit of time" because my recipes are usually half an hour jobbies. Give yourself a couple of hours, clear out the kitchen, pop on some tunes and have an awesome therapeutic bit of time to yourself.

3. It may not taste the same as everyone’s favourite childhood spread but it’s still insanely delicious, just different.

I’m pretty sure every health blogger on this here inter-web has their own recipe for homemade chocolate hazelnut spread. Healthy Nutella, if you will.

With my recipe, I took inspiration from them all, combining aspects of various recipes. Et voilà! My own take on healthy Nutella. Because the internet really needs another. Ahem.

At the end of the day, I’ve made this a few times now and seriously love it so I figured why not share it with you all.

It’s a lot nuttier than legit Nutella but I absolutely love the super hazelnutty flavour. And unless you have a super powerful blender, it won’t be as smooth either, but that doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, you could leave it less-blended and call it chunky Nutella, much like chunky peanut butter. Mama Hosie actually prefers the texture of mine: “less cloy-y” were her choice words.

Much like real Nutella, mine is the type of thing you can just eat with a spoon straight from the jar. And you know you’re onto something good when that happens. But mine is a lot more filling, that's for sure.

However if you do resist scoffing the lot as it is, this is one versatile spread: try blending into milkshake, stir some into your porridge, dollop onto pancakes, slather onto banana chunks or apple slices, or simply spread onto bread.

I heartily recommend this:

I simply blended one cup of cold almond milk, one frozen ripe banana and two tablespoons of healthy Nutella and then drizzled with Choc Shot for an extra chocolate boost. It was so so good.

It’s also exceedingly tasty when warmed and used as a dip for strawberries or any other fruit you may have lying around.

I get so excited when I make something so tasty that is also genuinely nourishing and super good for you! Can this really be sugar-free and vegan!? Why, yes. Yes it can.

The only ingredients are hazelnuts, medjool dates, raw cacao powder, coconut oil and almond milk, and they’re all packed with goodness. I’m not going to lecture you on the health benefits of each now because we have more important things to do (ie make Nutella) but Google is always there if you’re interested.

And don’t forget that you ideally need to roast and soak some shiz a few hours in advance otherwise your blender ain’t gonna be a happy bunny.

Also, if you can find blanched hazelnuts, use them and save yourself a hell of a lot of time. I already had one packet of blanched this time, but then Co-op only had unblanched so I had to use half and half. Damn you, Co-op.

De-skinning the unblanched nuts can be a slightly time-consuming job (even if you use this awesome technique Natasha Corrett of Honestly Healthy recommends), so save yourself the hassle if you can.

This recipe makes a large jar-full (my blender said around 600ml), but that’s if you’re eating a fair bit as you go. I presume you’re just like me and will do too. Yolo.

Hope you love it, gang!


Ingredients

1 mug pitted medjool dates
1 mug (200g) hazelnuts, ideally blanched
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
4-6 tbsp raw cacao powder, to taste
1-2 mugs unsweetened almond milk


Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190C. In a mug, cover the dates with warm water and leave to soak for at least an hour. Tip the hazelnuts into a baking tray and roast for 8-10 minutes, until the blanched ones are turning golden and the skins on the unbalanced ones are cracking.

2. If using blanched nuts, pour them into a bowl and cover with 1 mug almond milk. If using unblanched, you need to skin them first - I recommend Natasha Corrett’s technique: grab a big handful of the nuts, place your other hand on top and move them in small circles so the nuts grind against each other. Don’t worry if you don’t remove every bit of skin though. Some nuts are very stubborn and if you’re impatient like me you’ll eventually just make do with what you’ve got. Again, soak the hazelnuts in 1 mug almond milk for an hour or more.

3. Once your nuts and dates have been soaking and softening for at least an hour, you can crack on. Drain the dates and put them in a blender with the coconut oil, cacao powder and a sizeable splash of milk. Blend until smooth, stopping to mix and add more almond milk as necessary.

4. Add the hazelnuts and their soaking milk and blend blend blend! Make sure to taste it as you go and add more cacao powder or almond milk as you like. My blender is pretty rubbish so I have to stop and mix literally every 2-3 seconds, but keep going and you’ll eventually have a deliciously smooth spread. Persistence is key.

5. Spoon into a big jar and leave to cool fully before putting the lid on. And that’s it! Nutritious and delicious homemade Nutella. Yum!